Psychologist creates an iPhone app that can manipulate dreams [video]

Richard Wiseman, a psychologist and professor at the the University of Hertfordshire, has created an iPhone application that is intended to manipulate an individual’s dreams. While the user is asleep, the Dream:ON application will play various “soundscapes” that are intended to enhance and manipulate dreams. “Getting a good night’s sleep and having pleasant dreams boosts people’s productivity, and is essential for their psychological and physical well being,” the professor said to Sky News. “Despite this, we know very little about how to influence dreams. This experiment aims to change that.” Wiseman is hoping to attract thousands of people to take part in the dream manipulation experiment. His app can alter the sounds being played based on movement it detects when the user’s phone is placed on his or her bed at night. The soundscapes will then be able to evoke various dreams such as walking in the woods, lying on the beach or wandering in a peaceful garden. The Dream:ON app is available for free in Apple’s App Store, but users should be wary: a national survey found that 21% of respondents had trouble sleeping and 15% suffered from unpleasant dreams. A video explanation of the Dream:ON app from Professor Wiseman follows below.